B2B lead generation: where leads come from, and whether a list is worth buying

If you sell judgment to other businesses, your best leads come from buyers who are well aware of their problem. They read about it and ask people they trust before they call anyone. The people on a list of leads you buy haven't started thinking about the problem yet. And more leads won't help if your business can't keep up with the ones it already gets.

Why B2B buyers work out the problem before they call

Think about the person who'd hire you. Something in their business isn't working. It's been bugging them for months.

Month-end takes three weeks. A good manager quit and nobody's sure why. The office server is old, and every update might break something.

They don't start by looking for a consultant. They type the problem into Google, in their own words, and read what comes up.

Over coffee, they bring it up with someone they trust. A page gets sent to a business partner with a note that says "this is us."

By the time they call anyone, they know what the problem is called. They have a rough idea of what fixing it looks like, and two or three people in mind who could fix it.

Where B2B leads get lost on the way to a first call

In a first meeting I walk a business through how they bring new clients in, their funnel, and where the pain point is. We don't want to just amp up the number of people coming in if the business doesn't have the structure in place to hold more volume.

The path a new client takes to you is short. Someone hears your name or reads something you wrote. They email you, or fill in the form on your site.

Somebody writes back. A first meeting gets booked, a proposal goes out, and then it's a yes or a no.

The form goes to an inbox nobody checks until Friday. You're the only one who can take a first meeting, so the next open spot is weeks away. A proposal sits in your drafts while you finish work for the clients you already have.

More names from a list land in that same inbox and wait on that same full calendar.

What B2B lead generation lists are worth

A lead list is a file of names. Job titles, company names, email addresses, sometimes a phone number. Sorted by industry, size and province.

The people who sell lists promise you a number of leads each month. That number counts names. It doesn't count anyone who has the problem this month, or anyone who has ever heard of you.

A list is worth something. It saves you the work of finding out who's out there.

Say you sell one simple thing to a buyer you can describe in one sentence. If they can say yes on the first call, a list and a good email can get you meetings.

Expert work is a different sale.

Look at who's handing out the advice, too. Search "b2b lead generation" in Canada. Most of what comes up is written by companies selling lead databases, cold outreach tools or access to their lists.

Strangers on a B2B lead list compare you on price

The people on a list of leads you buy never asked to hear from you. Nothing tells you they have the problem this month. When you write to them, you don't know anything about their business.

Think about how it feels when someone you've never heard of tries to sell you something. If you're like me, it's cringe-worthy... then DELETE.

They've never seen your work. You get a few lines in an email to make the case for years of judgment.

What they'd be buying is the part a stranger can't see. How you think. What you've watched go wrong before.

All they have left to go on is your price.

The trouble is the list, not cold email. My own cold outreach starts from a signal, never from a list I bought.

A signal is something you can see that shows a business has the problem right now. They post a job for the role you'd help with. Or the owner writes online about the thing that keeps going wrong.

The words a B2B buyer types into Google

Nobody short on cash types "outsourced CFO services." They type "why are we short on cash when sales are up."

An owner whose team keeps missing deadlines types "why does my team keep missing deadlines." A company with an old server asks if it's time to move its files to the cloud.

Whoever wrote the page that comes up for that search is the name they remember when it's time to call.

Referrals matter a lot in this kind of work. When a buyer asks a friend who to talk to, sometimes the friend sends a link. It helps if the link goes to your page, and that page explains the problem better than anything else.

At My Ads Team, that's the work we do. SEO gets your page to show up when someone types the problem in their own words. Google Ads can put you on that same search while the SEO builds.

Everything else we do is on our services page.

Before you buy B2B leads, look at the path clients take

On a call, I'll walk through how clients find you now and where they drop off. Book a call

Frequently asked questions

Where do B2B leads come from if I am not buying a list?

From buyers who've worked out what their problem is. They read about it, ask people they trust, and find your page. Sometimes a client sends your name along.

Is a list of leads worth buying for B2B?

It can be, if you know what you're paying for. Ask the seller where the names came from and when the list was last checked. People change jobs, and an old list sends your email to someone who left.

Does cold email actually work for B2B leads?

Yes. An email that gets an answer talks about the reader's business more than yours. Keep it short. Say what you saw that made you write, and ask one plain question.

How long should I expect between first contact and a signed contract?

Longer than one call, so plan to stay in touch. Ask what has to happen on their side before they can say yes, like a budget meeting or a partner signing off. Then get back in touch when it has.